The former head of NHS Improvement responds to NHS funding announcement

“This settlement is good news for the NHS but we must invest this money wisely and ensure as much as possible impacts positively on frontline patient care.

“Whilst it is clear that many commentators believe the money isn’t enough, I think we need to recognise that it is a huge investment by any standards, especially given where the country is with regards to the wider economy. This is hard fought and we need to give credit where due for securing this investment.

“What is key now is to ensure that the full engagement with the service, patients and staff, starts immediately to work through what we can deliver with this money. We will all want to see improvements countrywide in key access standards, financial stability, better winters than previous years, improvements in cancer, primary care and mental health and, importantly, patient and staff satisfaction. With this investment comes the responsibility to deliver this – without fail.

“We all know that the NHS delivers more, pound for pound than any other health system and I am sure we will continue to do that”.